Eve caught her eye. “Do you think you’ll carry on seeing him after the articles are done?”
“No, we have a contract. Seven times only.”
“Well, not quite,” said Rusty.
Faith’s heart thumped. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve already done it three times on the first night.”
She gave him a sarcastic look. “Seven meetings, then.”
“You made him sign a contract?” said Dan.
“Yep.”
“And he agreed? What an idiot.”
Faith raised an eyebrow, aware of Rusty shifting next to her. “I didn’t give him a lot of choice.”
“Even so. What if he really likes you?”
“He does really like me. We’re having sex, Dan.”
“Stop reminding me. I meant what if he wants to carry on afterward?”
She sipped her wine. “He won’t. Come on, it’s just a bit of fun. These guys do it all the time.” She gestured to Toby and Rusty. “They’re always off with girls for a couple of weeks. You don’t go on at them about it.”
“They’re not you.” He caught her gaze and held it. His eyes were tender, affectionate, and held a hint of worry. “I know what you’re like. You’re going to fall for this guy, and he’s going to break your heart.”
Faith felt a rush of heat rise in her neck and up into her face. She made herself stay looking at her brother, however, even though she was acutely conscious that Rusty had stiffened. “No, I’m not. That’s what the contract’s for. Seven times, Dan, that’s all. We’re both perfectly aware it ends after that.” She sipped her wine again. “You guys aren’t the only ones who have needs, you know. It is possible for girls to have sex without the heart being involved.”
“Tell me more about these needs,” said Toby.
She thumped him. “Shut up.”
“No, I’d be interested in hearing more,” said Rusty.
“For God’s sake, you lot. Can we change the subject, please?”
They all laughed and Dan started talking about work, and Faith allowed herself to breathe out finally. She had seven weeks of this to get through. Talk about self-imposed torture.
Rusty moved in his seat again, widening his legs a little so his knee came to rest against hers. She didn’t look at him, but she was aware of the comforting gesture, the small token of support. It would be fine. They were both on the same wavelength, and there was no way Rusty was going to get serious about her, or vice versa. It was just sex. Hot, steamy, passionate sex, true, but just sex.
Chapter Seven
Rusty was already at the motel when Faith arrived the following Saturday, around six thirty. He watched her get out of the car and smile at him.
“Wow,” she said. “You’re early.”
“Couldn’t wait.” He came over and took her bag, kissing her cheek. “I’ve got the key and paid for the room.”
“I told you not to do that—my expenses will cover the cost.”
“Sweetheart, it’s the only thing stopping me from feeling like some sort of gigolo.”
She laughed out loud at that. “Fair enough.” She smiled up at him, and his heart rate increased. She wore a beautiful light orange halter top he could imagine untying to reveal her delectable breasts, and a floaty chocolate-brown skirt that was very nearly transparent. She’d caught up her lovely hair in a clip again, revealing her long, slender neck. Did she have any idea how crazy that drove him?
She lifted out another bag, which he knew would contain wine, Coke and probably chocolate, which she considered a postcoital necessity. She smiled at him. “You want to go for a walk first or something?”
“Nope. Can’t wait.”
She burst out laughing as he took her hand and dragged her up the steps to their room. Her eyes danced as he unlocked the door. “You hot for me, Thorne?”
“Practically volcanic. Get in there.” He smacked her butt as she walked past him.
Inside, she barely had time to put her bag on the table before he kicked the door shut and backed her up against the wall.
“Oh my.” She gasped as he pressed himself against her and began to kiss her neck. “Someone’s horny tonight.”
“Oh yeah.” He bit her earlobe and then sucked it. “And so am I.”
“I meant you.” A sigh escaped her lips.
“And you’re not turned on at all,” he murmured, sliding his hand up her skirt.
She shook her head. “I haven’t thought about you at all this week.” Her eyes were glazed, though.
He went to say something but the words vanished, as, to his shock, he found she wasn’t wearing any underwear. “You naughty girl.” Eyes wide, he moved his hand between her legs. He chuckled as he found her already wet and swollen. “Yeah, right. You’re not turned on at all.”
“Rusty! Whatever happened to foreplay?”
“Foreplay’s to get you in the mood. I’ve been in the mood since about twelve p.m. Sunday.”
She laughed and then, as he slid his fingers inside her, sighed and groaned. He began to arouse her, lowering his mouth to hers, and she brought her arms up around his neck. She felt loose and soft in his arms without the constriction of any underwear.
“God, you’re so hot,” he murmured, grabbing her butt as he pressed himself hard against her.
“What’s with you tonight?” She sighed as he stroked her breast. “Not that I’m complaining.”
He nuzzled her ear, smelling the fresh minty aroma of her shampoo, the flowery scent of her perfume. “I’ve been thinking about this all week. I haven’t been able to concentrate. Lord knows what I’ve been coming out with in my lessons.”
Faith smiled. He was adorable like this. She caught his face in her hands, and gave him a happy kiss. “Where do you want me, sweetheart?”
He laced his fingers with hers and walked toward the bathroom, bringing her with him.
“Another bath?”
“Shower this time.”
“I had one earlier. I’m clean, honestly.”
He chuckled, opened the cubicle door and turned on the hot water, letting it heat up. While he waited, he put his arms around her and began to undo the neck of her halter. “This is where your first lesson in oral sex begins.”
“Oh?”
“Cleanliness is next to godliness, babe.”
“I just said, I’ve had a shower.”
He stepped a bit closer as he lowered the top and revealed her breasts to his gaze. Looking down at them, he cupped them in his hands and brushed her nipples with his thumbs. She caught her breath, and he smiled. “I don’t mean you, sweetheart. You smell delicious.” He kissed her temple, inhaling as he nuzzled her ear. “But we’re researching your article here. And the first thing your readers need to understand is that the most important thing about oral sex is…it’s nicer after a shower.”
“Ah.”
He reached in a hand to test the water. “Explain to your ladies, if they want to give it a go, first of all they should introduce the ritual of bathing or showering. Make it part of the act so it becomes ingrained that if he wants it, he has to keep clean.”
“That’s excellent advice.” She began to undo the buttons on his shirt. “Is that why you wash all the time?” She knew he showered at least twice a day, as well as straight after any sport, and was a big fan of nice-smelling, subtle aftershaves. Even now, she could smell something with sandalwood and lemon, light and fresh.
“You’ve uncovered my secret,” he teased as she pushed his shirt off, letting it drop to the floor.
“Like wearing clean underwear in case you get run over by a bus.” She began undoing his belt.
He laughed. “My mum used to say that.”
“Mine too.” She felt the pang of sadness that often swept over her at the thought that her mother was no longer around. Lowering her eyes, she paused for a moment and then continued undoing the belt buckle.
He brushed her cheek, making her glance up. His green eyes searched li
ke a flashlight deep into her, seeing the emotion she’d tried to hide from him. He’d been amazing when her parents died, a rock for Dan, who’d fallen apart, helping to organise the funeral, sorting out financial matters, being there when they were too low to do anything but sit with their heads in their hands. He’d held her while she cried, wiped away her tears. Why the hell hadn’t she known it would finally come to this? Hadn’t the signs been there all along?
Grasping the bottom of her halter-neck, he lifted it over her head then pulled her skirt down and let her step out of it before placing it to one side. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled something out, keeping it hidden, then he slid off his jeans and boxers and kicked them away too. “In you go.”
She stepped in the shower. While she wet her hair, he disappeared into the living room briefly, reappearing carrying a bottle of something. He opened the cubicle door and joined her, filling the tiny space so she had to press herself against the tiles to give him room.
“What’s that?” She nodded at the bottle.
“Shower gel. Very silky.” He put the item he’d had in his hand on the soap dish—it was a condom.
“What’s that for?”
“You want me to draw you a diagram?”
“Do we need a condom for oral sex?”
He didn’t reply for a moment. He put the bottle down and rubbed his hands together. Starting with her shoulders, he brushed along her arms and down her body, massaged her breasts gently, and then moved his hand lower, between her legs. She had to catch her breath as he stroked her, and she looked up at him, speechless. His eyes were half-lidded, dark with passion.
She’d always known he was gorgeous, and had never questioned that girls found him attractive, but this was the first time she really understood quite why women loved him so much. He was a sensual, passionate man, a skilled lover, tall, muscular and lean, handsome and fun. He made her heart pound, even though she knew it was just Rusty, her best friend, the guy she dunked in the pool and bossed around in the kitchen, someone she’d known forever.
He stepped closer and kissed her. “Sweetheart, if I go down on you now, you’ll last about ten seconds.”
“You’re mighty sure of yourself.”
He laughed. “I’m sure of you.” He kissed her again, deeper this time, one hand sliding easily through her slick, warm folds, one stroking her breast, rolling her nipple. “Think of this like the adverts before the movie comes on.”
She struggled to concentrate. “So it’s not, like, real sex?”
“Oh no.” His fingers were relentless. “This is just a warm up. Not the real thing at all.”
“Only it kind of…feels like…the real thing.”
“We’ll just get rid of some excess energy so we can start again, and take our time.”
“Okay.” She felt faint with desire. “Stop that. My turn.” She pushed his hand away and grabbed the shower gel, squeezing some onto her palm. Then she rubbed it onto his chest. “When did you get all these muscles?” She ran her hands over his ribcage, up to his shoulders, down his arms.
He put his hands on her hips. “You hadn’t noticed me before?”
“I…” She thought about it as she rubbed her fingers over his nipples, making him shiver. “I don’t think I let myself look too hard. Like staring at a gorgeous pair of shoes that costs five hundred bucks—what’s the point in staring when you know you’re never going to buy them?”
He smiled, looking down as her hand descended in small, slow circles. Her fingers followed his chest hair where it tapered to a line, and trailed across his flat, hard belly into the thatch of red-brown curls at the bottom. Her soapy hand closed around him, and she proceeded to make sure he was really, really clean.
He closed his eyes, bearing her touch for as long as he could, and when he finally opened them again, they were hot and exasperated. He kissed her, the hot shower soaking his russet hair, turning it the colour of mahogany, and the water ran between their bodies, making them shimmer. She tried to say something, anything, to lighten the tension, to make him laugh, but he was too far gone. His kisses were molten hot, insistent. “Okay, that’s enough.” He tore open the packet and put on the condom.
Gently, he turned her around. He lifted her hands and placed her palms on the tiles. Her heart thumped as he reached around to stroke her breasts, and dipped his hand lower to brush into her hair. Then he nudged her legs apart and pushed into her, making her sigh.
They stood there for a moment, revelling in the sensation of being so close, so aligned with one another. His hands slid over her soapy body as he began to move leisurely inside her, drawing out their climax with excruciating slowness.
“Jeez, Rusty.” Her breath came in gasps, and he gave a sexy laugh. Her eyes narrowed—he wasn’t the only one who could play at being naughty. She spread her legs wider, glancing over her shoulder. “Are you going to fuck me properly or not?”
He gave her a warning look, but closed his eyes and thrust into her powerfully, leaning forward on the tiles. She gasped at the sound of wet skin on skin, at the slide of him inside her, and before long, her orgasm exploded. It made her squeal again as her muscles clenched around him, and he exclaimed as he came, pulling her tightly to him.
Afterward, he withdrew and turned her in his arms, and she rested her forehead on his shoulder, only half-conscious of the hot water soaking into her skin. “Oh my God.”
He kissed her ear. “You have the most powerful orgasms of any woman I’ve ever known, do you know that?”
“I have a very strong pelvic floor.”
He chuckled. “It feels like you’re squeezing me in a vise.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“No, no, that wasn’t a complaint.” He kissed her ear, her cheek and finally her lips. Then he looked at her, his green eyes warm. “So we’ve finished the starter. Are you ready for the main course?”
“Not yet. I need some real sustenance first.”
Ten minutes later, they lay on the bed eating chocolate.
“I thought this was for afterward.” He broke off a piece and offered it to her.
She took it and put it in her mouth. “It was. But I didn’t know we were going to have pre-sex sex. I need to keep my energy up.”
He laughed, breaking off another chunk for himself. He lay propped up against the pillows, slightly turned toward her, and she lay on her front, arms resting on a pillow.
She finished the piece of chocolate and took a sip of wine. “This is, like, an absolutely perfect evening.”
“Eating chocolate and drinking wine in a dodgy motel?”
“And having hot sex,” she said, adding before she could stop herself, “with you.”
He sucked on the chocolate as she studied him curiously, his eyes meeting hers, warm with amusement. He raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“I can’t reconcile the two versions I have of you in my head.”
“What do you mean?”
She pushed herself into a sitting position, her arms around the pillow. “There’s the Rusty I’ve known for ten years, the one who used to like jumping off Charlie’s Rock into the river and scaring the shit out of me, who made Dan let me watch horror movies when our parents had gone to bed, who bought me my first glass of wine in a bar.” She sipped her wine. “And then there’s the other Rusty.”
He gave a lazy smile. “And what’s he like?”
She watched as he licked chocolate off his fingers. Lord, did he know how much he turned her on? “Sexy. Hot. I’d never met him myself—I’d heard about him from other girls, but as soon as I turned up, he disappeared.” She ran her gaze down him. He was naked, completely unselfconscious, confident and relaxed in his nudity, and more than aware, she suspected, that his lean, muscled body was starting to heat her up again. “I mean, I’ve always realised you were popular with the girls. Heaven knows I’ve heard enough tales about your bedroom exploits from your girlfriends. But it’s only now I’ve really started to see that Rusty myself.
”
He reached over to get his Coke, displaying his wide chest with its crisp, curling hairs, and his tanned, muscular biceps to her before he turned back. He sipped the soda. “Do you like that Rusty?”
She met his gaze. “I can’t see how any woman could fail to.” She picked up his left hand, examining his empty fingers. “How come you’re still single, after all the girlfriends you’ve had?”
“I’m only twenty-six. And I haven’t had that many. You make me sound like a right tart.”
She laughed. “Well, you’ve had more than me.”
“Sweetheart, the Pope’s had more than you.”
“I’ve had two boyfriends.”
He snorted. “Two eunuchs, by the sound of it.”
“Don’t change the subject. Come on, tell me, have you ever been in love? I know you were pretty hot on that girl…what was her name? Meredith? Did you love her?”
He shrugged, clearly uncomfortable talking about it. “Not enough.”
“Do you ever think you’ll relax your guard enough to fall properly in love?”
“Nah.” He smiled.
She rested her head on her hand as she studied him. “Do you want kids, Rusty?”
His smile faded and his eyes took on a wary look. “No.”
“Why not?”
“You know why not.”
“Because your father, and your grandfather and your great-grandfather were all bastards?”
“Something like that.”
“It doesn’t run in the blood, love.”
He said nothing and she knew he was thinking about his brother. Cole, three years older than Rusty, had proved himself every inch a Thorne. A troublemaker throughout his school years, he’d got into a bad crowd, been arrested at twenty-one for burglary, spent six months in jail, and since then had been in and out of court on various charges. He got his girlfriend pregnant at twenty-five and had been decent enough to marry her but so far hadn’t exactly proved to be the ideal parent or husband. A drunk and a gambler, Cole was unreliable, hot tempered and basically unpleasant. Faith had often wondered if Rusty had been switched at birth.
“You’re so different from them,” she said, reaching out to stroke his cheek. “You’re educated, you have a profession, you’re responsible and reliable… There’s not a nasty bone in your body. How on earth can you think you’re like them?”
Seven Sexy Sins Page 6